LAST MONDAY I MADE A TRIP BACK TO THE MINE SITE, NOT UP THE MOUNTAIN TOP, BUT ON A PARALLEL HILLSIDE THAT I WORKED ALMOST TO THE DAY BUT, TEN YEARS AGO. I HAD MARKED THE TWO SPOTS WITH MY GPS. THE BATTERIES WERE DEAD IN MY CAMERA AND I FAILED TO CHECK MY SPARES. A ROOKIE MISTAKE THAT I WILL NOT MAKE AGAIN. I'M CHANGING ALL OF MY BATTERIES OVER TO RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES, A FEW EACH MONTH SO THEY DON'T ALL DIE AT ONCE.
I COULD HAVE MOVED THE GPS BATTERIES AND MOVE THEM BACK AND FORTH, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO RISK LOSING ANY OF MY DATA.
SO, LAST MONDAY ME AND A YOUNG MAN THAT I HAVE SPENT SOME TIME WITH OVER THE SUMMER, WHO WANTED LEARN ABOUT TREASURE HUNTING AND HISTORY MADE OUR FIRST OUTING. HE SHOWED A LOT OF INTEREST IN HISTORY AND HE WAS TAUGHT A GREAT DEAL ABOUT GETTING AROUND IN THE WOODS, DOWN TO HOW TO SURVIVE OFF OF THE FOREST.
IT WAS TIME TO TAKE HIM UNDER MY WING. WE DROVE UP THE MOUNTAIN AS HIGH AS IT WAS SAFE. WITH NEW BATTERIES IN MY CAMERA AND EXTRA BATTERIES FOR THE GPS, WE SET OUT WITH AS LITTLE WEIGHT AS WE COULD GET BY WITH. WE MADE OUR WAY BACK TO THE SPOT WHERE I HAD FOUND A THIRTY TO FORTY YEAR OLD TREE THAT HAD A HOLE THRU IT, JUST ABOUT THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF A SMALL FOOTBALL. IT LOOKED LIKE THE TREE HAD SPLIT AND THEN GROWN BACK TOGETHER ABOUT TEN INCHES ABOVE THE SPLIT. WE HAD TAKEN A HEADING BY SHOOTING THRU THE HOLE AND IT POINTED BACK TO THE KEYSTONE THAT STARTED THE SEARCH. LAST MONDAY, WHEN WE RETURNED, WE FOUND THAT THE SPLIT HAD GROWN IN LENGTH OF ABOUT THREE FEET. I WILL BE POSTING THE PHOTOS AS SOON AS I GET THE WORK DONE ON MY TOPO MAP.
WE MOVED ON TO THE NEXT GPS POINT AT THE TREE THAT WAS SHAPED LIKE A LARGE "N" SHAPE. IT GREW UP, TO ABOUT THREE FEET AND DOWN ALMOST TO THE GROUND, THEN BACK STRAIGHT UP. IT WAS POINTING DOWN THE HILL STRAIGHT AT THE BIG STONE WITH THE TURKEY TRACK. WHEN WE FOUND THE SPOT WHERE THE GPS LED US, THERE WAS NO SIGN OF IT. I KNEW THAT IT HAD TO BE VERY CLOSE TO US, SO WE LOOKED FOR IT IN THE WORST CASE THAT IT COULD BE AND WE FOUND IT, DEAD AND ROTTING ON THE GROUND AND GROWN OVER BY WEEDS. WE PUSHED THE WEEDS BACK TO GET THE PHOTO, ONLY TO SEE THAT THE MIDDLE PART HAD BROKEN NEAR THE MIDDLE. I PHOTOGRAPHED IT JUST THE WAY WE FOUND IT. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL ICE AND SNOW STORMS IN THE AREA OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS.
AS I STOOD, LOOKING AT THE REMAINS OF THE TREE, MY HELPER SAT DOWN TO REST. HE WAS LOOKING AT A ROCK, STANDING ON IT'S EDGE. HE ASKED ME IF IT WAS A COINCIDENCE THAT THE ROCK SHOWED THE PROFILE OF THE HILL GOING DOWN. I TOLD HIM "THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES ANYWHERE ON THE SITE." HE LOOKED DOWN THE ROCK AND SAID "IT POINTS TO THOSE TWO SQUARE ROCKS NEAR YOUR FOOT?" I STEPPED ON THE SECOND ROCK AND TURNED AROUND AND THERE WAS A PATH OF ROCKS GOING DOWN THE HILL. I TOLD HIM THAT IT COULD BE GOING EITHER DIRECTION AND THERE SHOULD BE A POINTER ON OR NEAR THE STONE AND HE GOT UP TO LOOK FOR A POINTER ON THAT ROCK, AND WHEN HE GOT UP HE UNCOVERED A LARGE POINTER THAT HE WAS LEANING ON. THE TIP HAD BEEN CHIPPED OFF AND WE FOUND IT A FEW INCHES FROM THE TIP AND UNDER SOME LEAVES. I SET THE GPS FOR THE TURKEY TRACK ROCK AND WE STARTED DOWN THE PATH. IT LED US DOWN TWO SMALL WATER FALLS, THEN THE TERRAIN DROPPED ALMOST STRAIGHT DOWN. WE HAD TO GET OFF OF THE PATH AND CRAWL ACROSS ANOTHER WATERFALL (ALL OF THEM, DRY, EXCEPT ONE SMALL ROCK) I MANAGE TO STEP ON THE ONLY WET SPOT AND SLIP ABOUT SIX INCHES AND REGAINED MY STEP JUST AS HE REACHED TO GRAB ME. FORTUNATELY I HAD REGAINED MY BALANCE BEFORE I PULLED HIM OFF OF THE LEDGE. THE SUDDEN JERK TO STOP THE DOWNHILL MOVEMENT RATTLED ALL OF MY BONES. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES IT WAS TIME TO START IN TAKING MY PAIN MEDICINE. I HAVE BEEN MAXING OUT MY DAILY AMOUNT EVERY DAY SINCE.
WE WENT NEARLY A QUARTER OF A MILE OUT OF THE WAY TO GET DOWN TO THE CREEK BED AND WORKED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR TRYING TO LOCATE THE TURKEY TRACK STONE. THE WALLS OF THE VALLEY ARE STEEP IN THE AREA, AND APPARENTLY THE WALLS WERE CAUSING SOME KIND OF SIGNAL SKIP. I FOLLOWED THE LINES AND DISTANCES FROM THE GPS, BUT EACH TIME IT PICKED UP A NEW DISTANCE AND DIRECTION. WE FAILED TO FIND IT.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST PART OF THE TRIP, BECAUSE I WANTED TO VERIFY THE EXISTENCE OF A GOOSE HEAD AND NECK CARVED INTO IT AND A FEW OTHER TESTS ON THE SURFACE. THEY WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR NOW. WE HAD TO GET BACK TO THE TRUCK. I NEEDED MORE WATER AND MEDICINE, NOT TO MENTION REST AND EAT. I DROVE THE TRUCK UP THE VALLEY TOWARD THE AREA OF THE STONE AND TRIED AGAIN TO FIND IT WITHOUT USING THE GPS. WE STILL HAD NO LUCK. AS SOON AS I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE, WE HAD TO GET MY OLD BONES BACK HOME FOR A HOT SHOWER AND A LONG NAP.
WE WILL BE BACK. THIS YOUNG MAN HAS A GREAT EYE FOR SEEING THINGS THAT DON'T LOOK NATURAL IN THE FOREST. HE IS GOING TO BE A GREAT HELP TO ME AND I WILL TEACH HIM EVERYTHING THAT I CAN ABOUT TREASURE HUNTING. MY SONS HAVE NOT FOLLOWED MY PATH AND IT WILL BE THEIR LOSS, AND HIS GAIN. WHEN I AM LONG GONE, THERE WILL BE SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE MY PLACE. THAT MEANS A GREAT DEAL TO THIS OLD MUTT.
MIKEL
#/;0)~
THIS IS AN ADD ON EDITING TO GET THE PHOTOS ON BOARD.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE SPLIT TREE THAT HAS ELONGATED AND NARROWED OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE BROKEN AND NOW ROTTING TREE THAT WAS SHAPED LIKE THE LETTER "N", IT IS DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE, AS IT DOES NOT SHOW THE MIDDLE PART OF THE LETTER. I ASSUME THAT IS WHERE IT BROKE FIRST, BUT IT MAY HAVE SNAPPED OFF AT THE GROUND AND BROKE THE MIDDLE AS IT FELL. I REALLY COULD NOT SEE ANY PROOF TO SUPPORT EITHER THEORY OVER THE OTHER.
AND THIS IS MY FELLOW TREASURE HUNTER, JESSIE, WITH THE POINTER STONE THAT POINTED TO THE TRAIL THAT WE FOLLOWED MOST OF THE WAY DOWN THE HILL.
AND IF YOU WERE WONDERING.... YES, IT IS DEER SEASON AND WE BOTH WEAR ORANGE VESTS.
FOR NOW, HAPPY HUNTING.
I WILL GO BACK AS SOON AS HEALTH WILL ALLOW.
MIKEL
#/;0)~
HANDY AS A ROPE AT A HANGIN'!
Wouldn't be the first time, either. 
He's more fair than that and can also see that Mikel uses this technique as a standard in his posts.
